09/21/10
If law makes blind, more law will make you see Llewellyn
Similar to the process in military boot camp, the first year is reported to be about unlearning and being overwhelmed that what was true yesterday is not true today. Learning the black letter law, while necessary, is only the skeleton of the body of law; one must learn the living law in order to have the tendons and musculature to hold the body upright and to learn to walk. I am not even crawling yet…
There is a lot of reading involved. In addition, one is counseled to brief cases for class, and to make course outlines. There is a whole industry of study aids sold to law students: audio instruction, outlines, cheat sheets of key facts, practice MBE’s and essays, ancillary prep classes…if one is willing to make the investment to study law, they are often willing to plunk down some pretty serious money to raise their chances of success. This is even more true when it comes to the Bar Exam-just look at the pass rate to know that there is no easy pass here. But beyond all of this, there is another element of prep and study that appears to be helpful in learning the law, and critical to a real understanding. Reading the assigned pages over and then again, reading ancillary texts and papers, discussion with other law students and when possible, professors. Breathe, eat, think and sleep the law. It becomes all consuming very quickly.
It is a mistake to see law as the usual source of ethics, it is usually the other way around. Bramble Bush, pg XII.
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